Baby given CPR by Youngstown cop dies of lung condition

An 8-month-old girl, on whom a rookie police officer performed CPR earlier this month, has died.

The family of Jonae McCall said she died Feb. 6 of a pulmonary hemorrhage at Akron Children’s Hospital’s main campus in Akron.

The girl’s mother, Jonette McCall, said her daughter had not had any medical problems until she was stricken Feb. 2 in her South Side home.

Police were called to the baby’s home about 6:45 p.m. Feb. 2 for a report of a baby not breathing. There, rookie Patrolman Tim Edwards — who was on just his third day in uniform — performed chest compressions on the baby for about a minute until ambulance workers were able to take over and get the baby to Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman.

From there, Jonae was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center and then flown by helicopter to Akron.

Police are nominating Edwards for the department’s Lifesaving Award. Edwards said a few days later that he did not have time to think when he arrived, just act. He was not available for comment Tuesday.

Jonae’s condition, however, worsened at the hospital. She leaves behind a 2-year-old brother who has been calling for his sister lately, Jonette McCall said.

“I think he knows a little,” Jonette McCall said of her son.

“It’s not easy,” she continued. “I’m just trying to hang in there and put my faith in God.”

Vera Little, whose son, Donald Little, is Jonae’s fiance, said the family is hurting. She said her son and Jonette are both in college and trying to do their best for Jonae’s brother.

“She [Jonette] has to be strong for her little boy,” Vera Little said.

She also asked for prayers for the family.

“I told her [Jonette] to take one day at a time,” Little said. “God’s in control.”

Funeral services for Jonae will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at L.E. Black, Phillips & Holden Funeral Home on McGuffey Road. Should anyone wish to help with expenses, they can contact the funeral home, Little said.